Will Amedore and Tkaczyk still end up in court?

Representatives of both political parties are counting absentee ballots in Ulster County as I type this, but Democrats say there may not be a clear winner in the 46th State Senate District until much later.

Queens Sen. Mike Gianaris, who chairs the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said that roughly 400 ballots have already been set aside after counting in the district’s other four counties, and that the margin between the two candidates should be less than that amount. Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, started the day 920 votes ahead of Cecilia Tkaczyk, the Democratic candidate.

“It will take at least a couple of days,” Gianaris said on WGDJ. “Everyone, including the Republicans, would believe the margin will be less than 400, and we won’t have a final answer until those ballots get before Judge Tomlinson.”

Republicans were more optimistic that Amedore’s lead would hold, even while acknowledging that it would shrink in Democrat-heavy Ulster County.

“It’s a process that is sometimes a slow and tedious process, but we’re confident that we’ll know something, at least statistically, by the end of the day,” said Republican Senate Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Libous. “We’re extremely confident. Having a 921-vote is just fabulous.”